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Chapter Three

Bracken hears the furious grumble before he catches sight of the wolf. The leaves rustle at the edge of the clearing, moving aside to let a great beast pass. A noble wolf, about eleven feet from nose to tail, gazes at them across the meadow. The figure is male, decides Bracken. The wolf's broad shoulders, huge size, and broad head come into play as he estimates its gender.

Kendra gasps from behind him. He glances back at her, trying to play down his affection in his reassuring look. It's difficult, especially with one as beautiful and charming as Kendra, but it's for the best. Bracken had made her a promise, those two, almost three years ago; he wouldn't intervene with her love life, and, once she turns eighteen, she'll be able to choose for herself if she wants him still. He must not make the decision any harder for her to wait for than it already is; he knows he hurts Kendra by the distance, but she'd hurt even more if he stayed close but just out of reach.

Shaking his head to rid his train of thoughts, Bracken turns back to the wolf, looking beyond Ryan the hunter.

Bracken stares at the dark wolf intently, trying to gauge his expression. Wolves are even harder to figure out than humans; they don't feel much in the way of hatred or fury. They mostly just love and continue through life, without a care in the world. Well, no... they hate and they get angry, but they do it... professionally, in a way.

They forgive, but they never, ever forget.

In the first few years of his life being hornless, Bracken had wandered from home. It wasn't that the other unicorns hadn't accepted that he was hornless, or that he hadn't been able to fit in. Bracken simply had felt out of place among the palace walls; he isn't quite a unicorn anymore, and it wasn't natural for him to remain there. He had run into wolves, and it had been their patient love that had taught him his first lessons on properly socializing.

It had been a small pack, one where love flourished and stories of the times before even his days were told around flickering fires underneath skies where the night seemed endless and beautiful.

But those days are over now, and Bracken forces himself to remain in the present.

The dark wolf stares back at him expressionlessly for three seconds. Then, one black paw stretches over the plants. Tentatively, he plants it on the ground, splaying his huge paw as he tests whether or not the barriers will forbid his passage onto the protected land surrounding the mansion. His golden eyes gleam as he takes another tentative step forward, one of his back legs cleaving through the foliage.

The wolf's smile is unusually baleful for his species, perhaps indicating a mental disorder, or a troubled past with this particular hunter, others like him, or just humanity in general; whatever the reason, the fangs displayed in the wolf's grin makes Bracken uneasy. He shifts into a more protective stance over Kendra.

The wolf darts forward and Bracken can see the raw power as he races onward, legs a blur, bulleting past the hunter and Bracken, completely overshooting his dash. Bracken frowns at the wolf's sobriety. He doesn't appear to have a good hold on himself, sprinting past both Ryan and Kendra.

Unless that was part of his plan… Bracken moves into an easier position to defend Kendra from both the wolf and the hunter. Ryan's at ease with the wolf's odd behavior, as if this is what he deals with every single day. Actually, using Bracken's prior knowledge of hunters he'd run into in the past, this is precisely what he does every day. Bracken turns his attention back to the runaway animal mostly, but he keeps the corner of his eye focused on the hunter. Maybe if the Hunter becomes distracted, Bracken can make his move... but that might leave Kendra vulnerable...

Bracken's keen eyes trace the wolf's path to a small bundle of fur, shivering and staring at the dead figure lying on the ground with wide eyes. A pup. Rage seethes in Bracken as he realizes that they'd been a family. A happy family, nestled into a cheerful preserve, with pups and futures and dreams.

"Oh, god," breathes Kendra. Through the proximity of their bodies, Bracken can feel her emotions. Horrified, mostly, but also miserable. He casts her a glance, wondering why she would feel such things. Bracken has a suspicion he's going to find out.

The black wolf swoops down and catches his pup's scruff in his mouth. The child yelps at first, and then relaxes, recognizing his father and trusting the figure. The desperate father rings back around, hurtling past the house, throwing back clumps of dirt in his wake. As he races past the deck, Warren rushes out, sword in hand.

Bracken halfway fears that Warren may give into his fears as a possible threat circling his place of residence, succumbing to humanity's instincts. But the man watches the wolf go with a look remarkably akin to wonder. Breathing a sigh of relief, Bracken begins to turn back around, prepared to face this new attacker.

Kendra screams, the sound of her terror making Bracken alert and frantic. He swivels around to her, anxiety erupting in his chest like a flame as Bracken catches her wrist in a firm grasp. He traces her line of sight to Ryan, and freezes as well.

"I warned you," sighs Ryan genteelly. "I really did. Now it's time to say goodnight. I think I'll kill the fairykind first; what do you think, Bracken, O Prince of Fairies?"

Bracken's pulse hammers in his veins, and his grip on Kendra's arm tightens to something that may be a little extreme for her fragile bones. But Bracken can't make himself let go. He can't let Kendra die. No, Kendra can't die. It'd be like turning out a light for Bracken; the more adjusted he becomes to her brilliance, the more he craves it, the more he depends on it. If that light were to be extinguished… Bracken would rather die than go back to the dark world, the world without Kendra's illumination. If that light were to be switched off, there would be nothing left living for, nothing lit up by her light. He would simply be without a purpose.

Bracken would rather die a thousand times than let anything happen to Kendra.

This foolish, irresponsible man thinks he can shut off Kendra's light? Never in a thousand years. Bracken stands over Kendra protectively. He can feel her fear behind him, and that fans the flames. Bracken twists his hand, jerking his horn and whispers, "Away with you," in his native language. The gun soars out of the hunter's grasp, flying into a bush. Bracken can hear a fairy titter in surprise.

Ryan glares at Bracken. He resists the urge to laugh, and to goad on his opponent. "Well played, unicorn," growls the hunter, cocking his head. "Why don't we talk this out like civilized people?"

That does nothing to calm Bracken. "You just threatened to kill Kendra," says Bracken, struggling to keep his voice normal, and failing. It's time someone knows how angry he is, though. "You think that I'm just going to skip along with you and wait for you to pull out another gun? And since when have you been civilized? You're more savage than the cruelest of animals, more corrupt that any demon. You are not fit to insult civilized humans by comparing yourself to them."

Ryan raises his eyebrows, mockingly impressed. "Does your boyfriend ever shut up?" he questions Kendra, gaze locked on Bracken.

"He does, actually," chats Kendra from behind Bracken, her voice making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "But only when I tell him to shaddap. And, if you've been paying attention, I haven't said a thing."

Ryan's eyes darken underneath his hat. He leans back on his heels, and studies Kendra with more interest than Bracken is comfortable with. He doesn't want anyone looking at Kendra like that; much less another male. In a way, that surprises Bracken. In another, it honestly doesn't. Kendra is his, and he is Kendra's. The unicorn part of his mind muses about how odd it is he feels this way if they aren't technically in a… what are they called? Oh, yes. Relationship.

Bracken hopes Kendra feels the same way.

Focus.

"So, you're a puppy-lover, eh?" questions Ryan, still addressing Kendra. The hunter completely ignores Bracken, which sends more unease trickling into Bracken's stomach.

"Excuse me?"

"You support the wolves."

Kendra snorts behind Bracken. She twists out of Bracken's grip, making him panic slightly, and storms right up to Ryan. She taps him three times in the chest, standing on her toes so the furious girl can look him in the eye. "Of course I support the wolves! You just frigging shot one of them, and tore a family apart! Does that not bother you?"

The hunter shrugs loftily. "Not really."

"Kendra," Bracken hisses, his unease building with every passing second. "Please…"

After a second of the stare-off between fairykind and hunter, Kendra turns her back and swiftly strides back to Bracken. He can't help but notice how beautiful she looks furious; like an avenging queen, almost.

"Sweetheart," the hunter calls to her while she regains her placement safely behind Bracken, causing his skin to prickle with anger, "doesn't it bother you that you're a traitor to your own race?"

Kendra freezes behind Bracken. His eyes narrow. Bracken isn't sure what the hunter means, but he knows for sure that he upset Kendra. As Kendra's friend, that should irritate him. As Kendra's protector, that should anger him. But as Kendra's unicorn, it makes Bracken cold with rage. It takes every bit of self-control Bracken has to swallow his resentment and not rip out the hunter's throat.

"What do you mean?" demands Kendra, her voice that tone Bracken knows all-to-well. His heart constricts. Kendra only talks like that when she's trying to be brave for other's sakes, hiding her true fears and insecurities to become strong and flawless. At least, as flawless as Kendra can be in her own eyes. To him, she's always perfect, inside and out.

Focus.

Bracken breathes out, focusing in the sound of his rattling exhale. He glares at the hunter, eyes betraying his silent warning: "Don't you dare say a thing to hurt her, or you'll be dead before you can reach the woods."

"Honey," sighs Ryan, cocking his head, "wolves are the enemies of humans. We've been groomed all of our lives, trained ever since birth to hate wolves. Even in children's books, we've been taught. Did you not think that the Big Bad Wolf was real? They're scum from the night, and it's time they left the earth's fate alone. However, not many people know about the wolves and all this magical crap. So, those of us that are aware, that's our duty. Our honor."

Bracken blinks. It's not the speech itself that bothers Bracken so much; no, Bracken's met more delusional than even this nutjob. It's the waves of hate and determination radiating off of Ryan, the cold will to get things done, no matter how brutal the task.

"I don't believe you," hisses Kendra, but Bracken can feel her deflating as she thinks of his logic, and her thoughts beginning to wander to the, "What if...?"

The hunter smiles as evilly as a demon, and tips his hat. "I'll be going now. This has been fun."

Something happens, so brisk Bracken's eyes can't even really track everything that occurs. He sees Ryan whip out a second gun, this one larger and with more unnecessary flashing lights, and aim it at Kendra. Bracken feels himself move to protect her, but the corner of his eye notices something else.

A black blur hurtles from the woods, leaping through the air, just a millisecond before the bullet leaves the rifle, and the deafening bang echoes around the clearing.

Bracken stares at the black body of the wolf, lying on the ground, panting with pain-filled whines, with a clean bullet wound in its shoulder.

"That's an old trick, but it works every time," explains Ryan smugly, returning his rifle to its secret pocket. "It's in their nature to protect anything innocent, no matter the cost of their own lives. So, you just -"

The hunter never finishes his sentence. "Catch," snarls Kendra murderously, her voice filled with fury and grief. She tosses her dagger through the air in a long throw, sending it sailing in an arch towards Ryan.

Bracken gets a sinking feeling as he realizes her throw is all wrong; the dagger will hit him with the hilt, not the blade, and will probably miss him altogether. The throw is too long; it's probably going to land right behind Ryan...

A hand reaches up and seizes the blade by the hilt from behind the hunter, and Bracken quickly reassesses the situation as Seth forms out of nowhere, proceeding to lower the dagger around Ryan's vulnerable throat.

God bless adolescent shadow charmers and their desire to cause mischief.

But Bracken quickly realizes something is not right in Seth's fury. He's blown the entire situation out of proportion, and the wrath in his eyes not only his own. That sends Bracken's senses tingling. Instinctively, he reaches out with his mind, and meets raw power, power so intoxicating that Bracken gasps and pulls back from Seth, and reassesses the young shadow charmer's anger.

Seth's brown eyes are nearly black with rage, his face a mask of fury, burning like a brand. He appears slightly taller, maybe half an inch, nothing noticeable to one that doesn't know what he's doing. Muscles that hadn't been visible mere minutes ago bulge, and Bracken's suspicions are confirmed.

With a swift motion, Kendra's dagger slices through Ryan's throat before the hunter can really interpret his surroundings. Blood streams from the elegant cut through the hunter's jugular vein, and Ryan's eyes pop in surprise, mouth opening in an O of shock. He falls to the ground, lifeless, limbs splayed in positions that no living being would make.

Oh, how quickly a life ends, and how swiftly Death takes its toll. As soon as Ryan hits the dirt, silence falls over the land, quiet respects paid in speechlessness. Seth blinks in appalled astonishment, as if he can't believe it had been he who ended the Hunter 's life. The only noises are the gasping whimpers of the black wolf, the sound of his breaths slowly getting shallow and small. After a minute of silent condolences, Kendra kneels besides the black wolf, placing his huge head gingerly on her lap, and running her fingers through the silky fur behind his ears and along his neck. The wolf looks up at her with one eyeball, studying her face mournfully.

"You saved our lives," whispers Kendra softly, stroking his fur. "Thank you." The wolf whines a bit more, most likely not even in control of his whimpers, and then responds with a deep melodic voice, "It's wh-what I do." The shivering in his strained voice saddens Bracken. A deep chuckle rocks his bleeding body. "Five h-h-hundred years of w-warning others to be wary of exactly th-that kind of play, and I -" he breaks off with a gasp, and a fresh wave of blood flows from the wound - "I f-f-fall to the exact same game."

"What's your name?" asks Kendra in a hushed tone, massaging over his drooping eyes.

"I? They call m-me Aladdin." Seth grins behind the wolf.

"Like, the Arabian dude with the fez?" The wolf watches Seth carefully, his eyes saddening beyond anything Bracken had ever felt before.

"You have a terrible burden, child," sighs the wolf, his voice evening. "Ah, I'm in the Ghosting stage of death. I can speak easier now. Know that wolves will answer to your call, young shadow charmer; it will help you on your journey."

Seth frowns, but Kendra interrupts. "Why did he want to kill you, Aladdin?" she questions gently, pushing a bloody piece of fur out of his eyes. Aladdin sighs. "Once, wolves were a brilliant race of love and harmony and justice. But then humanity stole our very soul, and found that we are as weak as idiotic animals without it. It's become a thrill, a game, a sport, a game." Aladdin's voice is grieving, as if he's lost many to this game.

"My son," breathes Aladdin, strength fading quickly. Bracken kneels besides Aladdin, places a palm on his blood-sodden pelt. "Please, take care of my son. He still doesn't understand why his siblings never came home, and now none of his family will ever tell my little Flash-Foot how much he is loved. That is your job. Tell him how much I love him. Tare care of him, but an older sister will be picking him up soon; perhaps in a day or two. That is, if they did not get to her also..."

"We will," promises Kendra, running her fingers through his thick mane. "I swear, I won't let anything happen to your pup."

"Thank you," whispers Aladdin. Bracken feels the last of his strength fading, underneath his palm. Sadly, he looks at Kendra, and she gets the message from his eyes. Kendra chokes back a sob, cradling his enormous black head to her chest. "Please," he breathes, "give him back his soul, and return the wolves to their former glory."

The wolf never speaks again.

Kendra kisses the wolf on his broad forehead and sobs, her tears trickling over Aladdin's black fur, like drops of crystal on obsidian. His body loses heat, and his muscles lock up. Bracken isn't sure how long he sits by the wolf, but he can feel the presences of the rest of Kendra's family around them, curious but politely giving their respects to a wolf they never knew.

It's as if the wolf's spirit still lingers in the desolate field, wandering and crying out for his son lost in the woods. Bracken can feel it, and to rise from his bow of respect prematurely would be sacrilegious, almost; a dishonor to everything the savior of Kendra had been.

Finally, the spirit departs, and Bracken rises from his kneel, his anger reaching the brim. Someone is going to pay for this. Someone is going to die.

Cadeliah can feel it, in her fresh new bones. The spark of fire has been lit in their souls, soon to be fanned into a raging flame. They're coming. The one and only are on their way. The end of time has began.

Sorry for the long chapter! I really hope it wasn't to confusing! Did I write Bracken well? REVIEW! I can tell that
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